Data communication systems exchange user data with User Equipment (UE) to provide various data communication services. The UE may be a phone, computer, media player, and the like. The data communication services may be Internet access, voice calling, video conferencing, or some other computerized information service. A popular wireless communication technology is Long Term Evolution (LTE). LTE networks use wireless base stations called evolved Node Bs (eNodeBs) to wirelessly connect UEs to LTE networks.
The LTE networks comprise other network elements like Mobility Management Entities (MMEs), Home Subscriber Systems (HSS), gateways, routers, and servers. The MMEs orchestrate session control over the LTE network to deliver multiple data services to the UE. The UE then exchanges user data with the gateways systems over the eNodeB to deliver the data services.
Wireless relays extend the range of the eNodeBs in LTE networks. A wireless relay has an UE that communicates with another eNodeB. The wireless relay also has multiple Wireless Access Points (WAPs) that interface with UEs. In some deployments, multiple wireless relays are coupled together to form chains and trees. The eNodeBs and the UEs in the wireless relays use Modulation and Coding Schemes (MCS) to wirelessly communicate over the air. The eNodeB typically selects the MCS for the UE in the wireless relay based on current signal strength and/or quality.
As the wireless relay chains and trees reach levels of complexity, the ability to manage MCS by signal strength and quality has limitations. Unfortunately, MMEs and eNodeBs are not efficient and not effective when controlling MCS in a multi-relay environment.